Join us for a new tradition and celebrate the season at our Holiday Festival, which will have vendors, food and so much more! Don’t forget the annual holiday parade from the Municipal Center down Montgomery Street to the Laurel Armory where special guests Santa and friends will be on hand for picture opportunities. We will also have musical entertainment while you await the lighting of the Laurel Armory-Anderson Murphy Community Center.

Holiday Trash Schedule

The City of Laurel will be closed on Thursday, November 23rd and Friday, November 24th in observance of the Thanksgiving Holiday. Refuse and reycling pickups for Thanksgiving Week are as follows:

Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday Refuse - unchanged

Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday Recycling - unchanged

Thursday and Friday Refuse - cancelled.

Thursday and Friday Recycling - moved to Wednesday, November 22nd

Leaf Vacuuming - When the city completes the Wednesday route on November 22nd the leaf vacuum truck will move on to the Thursday route. If time permits the truck will move on to the Friday route following the completion of the Thursday route.

There will be no yard debris collection or bulky item collections on Wednesday November 22nd. The next Bulky Item pickup and Yard Debris collection will be on Wednesday, November 29th. The deadline for these pickups is Monday, November 27th.

Silver Designation For Solar

I am very proud to announce that the City of Laurel is receiving a Silver designation from the national SolSmart program for making it faster, easier, and more affordable for homes and businesses to go solar. Laurel is the first city or county in Maryland to be recognized!

This designation acknowledges the City of Laurel for taking bold steps to encourage solar energy growth and remove obstacles to solar development. The SolSmart Silver designation signifies to companies that Laurel is “open for solar business.”

SolSmart is led by The Solar Foundation and the International City/County Management Association (ICMA). It is funded by the U.S. Department of Energy SunShot Initiative. More than 100 cities, counties, and small towns have achieved SolSmart designation since the program launched in 2016.

To receive the designation, cities and counties make changes to reduce the time and money needed to install solar panels. This includes evaluating the permit process, as well as planning and zoning procedures. Laurel has implemented zoning regulations in the Unified Land Development Code for solar installations. The City has also issued over 300 Solar PV permits, for installations for residential and commercial properties. These actions encourage solar companies to do business in the City of Laurel, which drives economic development and creates jobs.

SolSmart uses objective criteria to award communities points based on the actions they take to reduce barriers to solar energy development. Communities are then selected as a gold, silver, or bronze community.

If you have any questions regarding Solar Energy installations in the City of Laurel, call 301-725-5300, ext. 2238.

November Specail Pick-Ups

I am pleased to annouce an extra bulk item pickup and yard debris collection in the month of November! In order to help our residents prepare for the upcoming holidaysan extra-special Residential Special Pickup and Yard Debris collection has been added to our calendar for Wednesday, November 29th.

Residential Special Pickup collection is intended for the unusually large accumulation of household or yard wastes that cannot be picked up in the normal twice a week refuse collection. Special Pickups are available to single-or two-family dwelling units.

Yard debris needs to be in a paper bag or a reusable container. Branches need to be less than 4' in length and 3 inches in diameter and tied and/or bundled. Bundles cannot exceed 2’ in diameter. Please have your yard debris out to the curb by 7:00 a.m. on the day of collection.

Scheduling: Requests for pickups must be made by the end of the day MONDAY, November 27th. To contact us by phone call: 301-725-0088 Monday through Friday from 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. (TTY/Text users call via Maryland Relay). After hour callers may leave a message on our automated voice mail system. For your convenience you can also schedule a special pickup or yard debris collection 24/7 by e-mailing Public Works at dpw@laurel.md.us. For additional information please see our Bulk Trash Pickup page.

Safety Tips for Thanksgiving

It’s the beginning of November and most of us are getting ready to feast on Turkey for Thanksgiving!

Did you know that Nationally, Thanksgiving is the leading day for home cooking fires? There are three times as many fires reported on this holiday, than any other holiday, according to fire safety statistics.

Mayor Craig A. Moe and the City of Laurel’s Office of the Fire Marshal and Permit Services wants you and your family to stay safe this Thanksgiving, so they’re passing along the following safety information provided by the U.S. Fire Administration:

Heat cooking oil slowly and watch it closely; it can ignite quickly. Keep a lid nearby to smother small grease fires. Smother the fire by sliding the lid over the pan and turn off the stovetop.

Make sure you have smoke alarms, with working batteries, on every level of your home.

Use well-insulated potholders or oven mitts when touching pot or lid handles.

Have a "kid-free zone" of at least three-feet around the stove and areas where hot foods or drinks are prepared or carried.

If using a fryer, do not overfill the fryer; always use them outdoors a safe distance from buildings and any other flammable materials; and never use turkey fryers in a garage or on a wooden deck.

Make sure the fryers are used on a flat surface to reduce accidental tipping and keep an all-purpose fire extinguisher nearby.

Never leave the fryer unattended and never let children or pets near the fryer.

Make sure the turkey is completely thawed - 24 hours for every five pounds in weight - and be careful with marinades - oil and water do not mix!

Be safe this Thanksgiving and have a Happy Turkey Day!

New Enhanced Crosswalk

Pedestrian crossing just got safer in the City of Laurel!

I was happy to announced that the City of Laurel will hold a public unveiling of the newest enhanced crosswalk on Wednesday, November 8, 2017, at 4:00pm. The public is welcome to attend! The enhanced crosswalk, which is a pedestrian-activated Rectangular Rapid Flash Beacon system (RRFB), will go into service after the unveiling and is located at the crosswalk on Montrose and Ward Streets in front of Centennial Park.

Side-mounted LED arrays flash concurrently to advise pedestrians that the units are flashing. This is the highest yielding rate of all devices not featuring a red display and up to four times greater than standard round beacons. RRFBs cost less than other devices with similar vehicular yield rates.

This is the fifth RRFP crosswalk installed within the City, two are located on Main Street, one is located on Sandy Spring Road by Sweitzer Park and one is located on Laurel Lakes Avenue and Cypress Center close to the Community Center.

I believe that these types of crosswalk pedestrian enhancements will provide safer travel for residents at these intersections.

Completed registration forms and payment can be mailed of dropped off to LARS,

311 Laurel Avenue, Laurel, MD 20707

My Time With The Mayor

Last one of the year! My Time with the Mayor will be held on Monday, December 11, 2017, starting at 4:30pm until 6:30pm at the Greenview Drive Cabana.

The My Time With The Mayor Program is an opportunity for residents to drop in and meet with me while in their own neighborhood. Allows the residents to bring issues, concerns and ideas to the Mayor in a casual environment. The Mayor from time to time will provide written responses back to the members of the public, depending on the issue. Each My Time with the Mayor event is two hours long, and residents are invited to meet with Mayor Moe on a first-come, first-served basis.

Plan on coming down to the Greenview Drive Cabana & Pool, Greenview Drive, from 4:30 - 6:30pm. Hope to see you on the 11th!